Bringing the Law
On August 8, Illidan Stormrage created a permanent rift in reality that drew the Legion world Argus into view of Azeroth. A cascade of consequences drew the Order of Ashfall into conflict with the Burning Legion, opportunists, and themselves... Felsoul Hold (series) Hasten Home (event) On August 13, the Order returned to the city of Bel Lonn. There, they met with a crowd of worried citizens, who demanded--and deserved--an explanation. Lord Auromere made a speech, which satisfied most, but some remained behind and continued to fret. Auromere sent Ghanan Steelbeard, Ragnar Blackburn, and Neapolitan Butterchurn out to interact with the people. Steelbeard befriended a frightened new mother, sending both away safe and with confidence in their leaders restored. However, another--seemingly a dwarven woman--began to agitate for surrender to the Legion and for treason. When Steelbeard's diplomacy won over her audience, the woman revealed that she was actually a doomguard, and attacked. The Order swiftly put the doomguard down, and Auromere instated a temporary curfew while the mess was cleaned and order restored. Strictly Routine (event) After the incident, Auromere determined that regular patrols around Redgold County would help to reassure the people that their protectors were very present and not neglectful. On August 15, a patrol arrived in Trundleton, a settlement of primarily Gilnean refugees now loyal to Stormwind. No one challenged or greeted the patrol. Further investigation revealed that the settlement had been captured, and its population abducted--those who weren't killed in a gruesome ritual--by agents of the Burning Legion. Auromere returned to Stormwind City at once, to apprise the King of an invasion and to seek assistance. There, he met with Jiroki Duskrunner, Shield Mother of the Greyshields; she revealed that her troop, and other organizations, had suffered similar abductions. They had traced the missing persons to the Broken Shore, and Auromere swiftly pledged to join forces in a rescue mission. Watch the Right Hand (event) The Order traveled swiftly to the Broken Isles, and rendezvoused with the other organizations on August 16. There, while another party went on a search-and-rescue mission for the prisoners, Auromere led a diversionary attack on a demon outpost just far enough away to draw off the demons. The attack opened with a cannon volley, and the Legion forces moved to attack. The diversion group, composed of a mix of personnel from different militias and organizations, came together as a unified whole to repel wave after wave of powerful demons. The search party was partially successful, rescuing the Trundleton villagers, but the other prisoners were whisked away to power a soul engine. The rescue party withdrew, and signaled the diversion party to fall back. Into the Fire (event) The joint operation gathered in Suramar to make another attempt on August 17. Duskrunner had located the prisoners once more, and the whole might of the operation moved against Felsoul Hold to retrieve them. There, an inquisitor unleashed a mighty force against the Alliance forces--not merely demons, but a terrible weapon powered by the souls of prisoners. However, the courage of the Alliance was undiminished, and they fiercely fought back and even destroyed the inquisitor and its weapon. The prisoners were rescued, and extracted to Dalaran for medical attention. The Order of Ashfall returned thence to their own home. Outcomes The village of Trundleton was damaged due to the Legion attack, and half a dozen people murdered. The villagers mourned their losses at a memorial service--and then, with typical Gilnean stoicism, moved forward. As a result of this successful endeavor, the Greyshields and the Order of Ashfall became formal allies. Heroes of Felsoul Hold * Ragnar Blackburn * Neapolitan Q. Butterchurn * Peryn Crowson * Ghanan Steelbeard * Tayluur Welch Allies: * Dark Embrace * Greyshields * Melrony Crime Family (as Order of Nancy Teapot) * Wolves of Dawn The Door Swings Both Ways (series) What Does the Goblin Say? (event) On August 27, the Order returned to Ashfall from Stormwind City. On their way to Bel Lonn, however, they were intercepted by an armsman, who informed them that a goblin caravan from Fuselight had been attacked. The caravan was led by Harvey Hexbolt, who--after some persuasion--informed them that they had attempted to cross Highplain County, only to be attacked by demons. Lord Auromere immediately sent scouting parties to the area to pinpoint the demons' encampment, and bought a barrel of ale from the goblins to make it worth their trouble. During the intervening week, rangers and scouts sought out the demon camp, and located it on the banks of the Willowswift, a little above the corners of the counties. There, they gathered intelligence about numbers, equipment, and other factors--and discovered that it was, indeed, a Legion invasion point. The location was dubbed Invasion Point: Iniquity. It was staffed by at least two hundred demons--imps, mo'arg of all three varieties, an eredar overseer, and an observer on contract in exchange for access to an artifact of great power. Not in My Back Yard (event) This intrusion could not go unanswered. Lord Auromere crafted a plan to weaken the Legion in preparation for a final push: While a larger cavalry unit would draw the Legion's attention, a smaller team would infiltrate the camp, seize the artifact, and retreat to a secure location. The observer's contract would default in a week, removing one of the camp's best defenses. The infiltration team's secondary objective would be to sabotage anything they could. On September 5, Peryn Crowson, Tayluur Welch, and Sauldrik Thelenmore entered the camp while Lord Auromere led the cavalry unit. They searched the four shelter and storage structures, only to discover that the artifact was not present--but did discover a handful of grenades, which Crowson blessed for extra effectiveness. Thelenmore rigged a munitions storage shed to detonate, and exploded it when the eredar overseeing the camp arrived to quell the commotion. Crowson used a grenade to damage the teleporter, and the team destroyed the eredar, who was carrying the artifact. They collected the artifact and retreated to Pinehold, along with the cavalry unit. Afterward, they conferred with Auromere, and decided that the most advantageous point to hold and defend the artifact would be Fort Varian. Keep What You Steal (event) The civilians in and around Fort Varian were swiftly evacuated, and it became a waiting game. In the meantime, Auromere decided to implement an application of the fel-disruption research he'd done in the past years, by rigging up a pulse generator in the mage tower. Finally, word arrived that a large flock of felbats had taken off from Iniquity, and a small detachment of demons and warlocks on foot. To content with this, Auromere stationed cavalry outside of the fort in a place of concealment--composed of Crowson, Welch, Graevus Kelborn, Neapolitan Butterchurn, and himself--and gave a communicator to Scarlet Redbloom to alert the tower when to fire. Meantime, Thelenmore was tasked with the second strike, which would launch when the felbats were downed. The felbats arrived first, and immediately engaged the archers on the walls; the warlocks and their felguard escort followed swiftly and began to create portals. Auromere sent the signal to fire, and ordered a charge against the foot troops. Redbloom stayed inside the fort for the interim, assisting in culling the felbats. Two portals were opened, and gan'arg carrying explosive charges made an attempt on the fort walls. Meantime, the warlocks turned from creating the portals to casting a shield to protect them. The tower fired shortly after, and all of the felbats were slain due to the sudden disruption of fel energies in their bodies. The gates opened, and the remaining armsmen streamed out to join the battle, while the catapult awaited the opportunity to destroy the portals. At last, the warlocks were cut down, along with the invading demons, and the catapult did its work. The party was injured, but victorious, and the artifact remained secure. The Price of Success The next day, a Legion ship arrived at Iniquity. The eredar captain disembarked immediately and ordered the observer bound, so that it could not depart when the contract expired. He took command of the camp, and began the process of offloading new armaments. The mo'arg camp engineer was placed in captivity as well, to be "dealt with" when word arrived from Argus. Contractual Obligations (event) It was during that "dealing with" process that the Knights of Ashfall struck again. Taking advantage of the demons' attention on the punishment of the mo'arg, a strike team slipped into Iniquity and freed the observer. Upon its release, the observer began to wreak merry havoc on the Invasion Point in retribution for its captivity. Meantime, the strike team proceeded to the Legion ship, killed the crew, and turned its weapons on the camp. The destruction of Iniquity was complete, save for one survivor: the observer. Auromere, on advice from his order, spared the observer and prepared to enter into negotiations. Meantime, the ship would belong to Ashfall. Outcomes Invasion Point: Iniquity was a total loss to the Legion, and a complete victory for the Order of Ashfall. It was swiftly renamed "Launch Point: Retaliation", and the netherwarp ship rechristened the N.V. Leviticar. Auromere negotiated a contract with the observer, Breggarx, to pilot the Leviticar to Argus, and to teach someone else to pilot thereafter. This he took to King Anduin for approval, and the Order of Ashfall was granted permission to carry out a short voyage to assist the Army of the Light. Heroes of Invasion Point: Iniquity * Neapolitan Butterchurn * Peryn Crowson * Graevus Kelborn * Scarlet Redbloom * Sauldrik Thelenmore * Tayluur Welch Lawbringers (series) Nuke It From Orbit (event) With the Leviticar refitted and suitable for non-demon occupation, the Knights of Ashfall boarded the ship and prepared to launch. Breggarx had already trained other pilots to fly the ship, but piloted this mission itself, per the terms of its contract with Auromere. The Order's first mission was to insert into the space over Argus and bombard a placement of anti-aircraft cannon, to assist the Army of the Light's continuing operations in the area. However, the Legion was either expecting them, or did not receive expected communications, as the AA cannons opened fire on the Leviticar. The Leviticar was damaged, and while Breggarx could land it in relative safety, the mission would not proceed as planned. Instead, the Order used Goblin Glider Kits to jump to the AA site and use conventional explosives to disable the guns. The drop was successful, though the Order's forces were spread out some distance across the field. They swiftly regrouped and assaulted the guns, slaying the demons manning them and destroying the weapons. Afterward, it was discovered that the Leviticar would require repair before being able to fly again; the Order traveled to the Vindicaar for a base of operations, and were welcomed as guests and heroes. Hold My Beer and Watch This (event) After a series of missions carried out individually or in small groups, as part of the Army of the Light's reinforcements, Brewfest began. It was requested of the Order that, as they relocated to Bronzebeard's Anvil, a forward base camp manned by dwarves, they also escort a shipment of holiday brews. The Knights set out across the desiccated plains of Krokuun, but soon found that they were not alone, nor were the dwarves the only ones who wanted those brews. A group of Horde combatants, colorfully dressed as pirates, attacked, only to be repelled. The Horde eventually fled, probably fearing identification more than harm. The brews arrived safely, and the Order began their war efforts anew among the jovial dwarves. Last Ditch Effort (event) Refreshed and reinforced, Bronzebeard's Anvil pushed back against the Legion forces besetting it. The Legion fell quiet for a time--too quiet. A patrol by the Knights, however, uncovered a terrible situation: the Legion had not withdrawn, but merely regrouped for another, massive assault. The Knights fell back to the glacis before Bronzebeard's Anvil, and prepared for battle. They withstood the advancing Legion swarms by aid of gun turrets (one of which ably manned by Welch)...and soon found themselves facing the commander of the Legion forces, a great pit lord. Knowing they were outmatched, Auromere encouraged the troops, and called in his ace in the hole: the Leviticar, now airborne, but as the engineer operating it put it, "unable to fly and shoot at the same time." The Leviticar fired upon the pit lord in a strafing run, and then landed behind it, crippled again but intact. This was enough, however, to destroy many of the pit lord's carapace-like armor plates, and expose its flesh to attack. The Knights, with speed and determination, dispatched the fiend and turned the tide in that area. Outcomes The Knights of Ashfall, after the fierce battle, earned the gratitude and respect of the Alliance and the Army of the Light. They soon returned to Azeroth to rest and recover. A dispute regarding the disposition of the pit lord's corpse arose in the aftermath of the battle; as a result, Sir Graevus Kelborn found that his methods and the Order's were too much unlike. Fortunately, he soon came into a bequest from Lord Phineas Townesende, which permitted him to create a chivalric order of his own. The two orders are now fast allies. The Leviticar was yet again in need of repair, but further exploration and research determined that its power source was quite literally the tormented souls of the departed. Disgusted and horrified, Auromere ordered the ship decommissioned and the souls freed at once. What of the ship that could be salvaged ethically, would be incorporated into a new ship, also named Leviticar. During his missions on Argus, Sauldrik Thelenmore would come into the possession of a mysterious sword, one that would figure prominently in his path to knighthood. Heroes of Argus * Neapolitan Butterchurn * Peryn Crowson * Graevus Kelborn * Scarlet Redbloom * Kikki Steinmoore * Sauldrik Thelenmore * Tayluur Welch Category:Campaigns Category:Events